Hollywood Nights//Jake Kiszka

Three

Becca wasn't too happy you were leaving the bar with a guy who might as well be a stranger. "You're doing WHAT????" Was her exact response to you telling her that you were going "somewhere" with Jake. You roll your eyes.

"I've talked to him. He's nice. Everything's gonna be fine." You text back.

"Fine, just don't come crying to me when you get murdered," she responds.
You sigh and smile a little. She's always been overprotective of you, since you met in elementary school. But you're not the same person you were back home. You're different now. You're the type of girl who leaves bars with beautiful strangers, who risks everything for a music career that might not even happen. Or maybe it will. You don't know that yet.

  You look over at Jake, sitting in the cab next to you. "Where exactly are you taking me?" You ask.

"You'll see," he answers with a smile. He takes off his sunglasses and you see his eyes for the first time. You can kind of tell that they're  a light shade of brown. They're mesmerizing, and you find yourself staring a little bit at his face. He catches you looking at him and smiles. "Are you staring at me?" He asks with a smirk.

"What? No!" You say with a smile and a laugh.
The cab stops then. "We're here," Jake tells you. He steps out and opens your door for you. What a gentleman. You look around and figure out where you are.

"The beach?" You ask him. "Why the beach at night?"

"I love it here at night. No one around. Just you and the water," he answers.

   "You always bring girls you've just met to the beach in the middle of the night? Or am I the first one?" You tease.

  "You're the first," he laughs. "Does that make you feel special?"

  "It does. Very much."

   He laughs again, and flashes that same sly smile he's been giving you all night. You're growing even more curious about him, and honestly, even more attracted to this beautiful stranger.

   "So, Jake, tell me something about yourself. I'm here on a dark, scary beach with you, and I don't know anything about you," you look over at him. He smirks and turns to you.

  "Well, what do you want to know?" He replies.

  "Hmm, let's see," You say. "If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?"

  He nods as if thinking about what you said for a second. "That's easy. A quiet, little farm in the middle of nowhere. No one around, no one knows who you are."

  "Huh, interesting."

  "What about you?" He asks you.

  "Hmm, maybe New York. Never been there, but I've always wanted to go," You say.

"New York's overrated," he answers.

"And why would that be?" You say with a laugh.

"It's busy and crowded," he says. "It's nice, but I prefer quiet."

"Clearly, if you'd prefer to live in a cabin in the woods," you laugh.

"Who wouldn't?" He responds.

"Please, I've done quiet. That's why I moved here. I needed a change," you say.

  "Why did you move here, anyway?" He asks, a little quieter now.

  "Becca, Chris, Cal, and I had this crazy dream of moving to L.A. and becoming famous. We've been here for almost a year and nothing's happened yet, but we keep hoping," you sigh, looking out at the city lights. You can only hope moving a thousand miles away will be worth it. You can't bear the thought of it not working.

  You're both quiet for a moment after that, but then Jake breaks the silence. "Based on what I heard tonight, I think you guys have a shot."

  "Really?" You look over at him.

  "Really," he nods.

  "Thank you," you look right in his eyes then. He stares back, and then slips his hand in yours. Your heart skips a beat or two, and a chill runs up your spine. His hands are soft yet firm, tender yet rough.

  You walk in silence again for a minute and you think this "date"-or whatever the hell this-is going horribly. This guy is easily one of the most attractive people you've ever laid eyes on. Why would he want to spend his night walking on the beach with a random stranger?

  "I'm just gonna be up front," you begin. "Out of all the girls in the bar tonight, why would you pick me? Lots of girls were talking to you tonight. You could have easily gone with one of them," you'd seen him making his way around from the stage earlier in the night. You weren't the only one who thought he was attractive, clearly.

  He sighs for a moment, looks down, and then over at you. "I asked you to come here with me because I saw you perform. People are so vulnerable when they perform. Watching you makes me feel like I know you already." He says this quietly, quieter than anything else he's said tonight.

  "That's... that's very poetic," you manage after a moment. "I like a man that can appreciate poetry."

  "Well, I can do more than just poetry," he says, flitting his eyes up and down. He looks over at you and bites his lip. You both stop walking and he keeps looking at you.

  "Are you gonna kiss me?" You break the silence.

  "I was thinking about it," he answers. "Would you mind if I did?" He's smiling now.

  You respond by closing the space between you and press your lips to his. He kisses you back and it starts off slow, but starts to deepen as he wraps his arms around you and you reach for his hair. You stay there for a while longer, until he comes up for air and whispers, "Do you want to come back to my hotel with me?" In your ear. You hesitate for a second before nodding. He kisses you again for a little while, then you go to find a cab.

  He holds your hand while you stand by the curb, and you wonder if you should be doing this. You're not the type of girl who has one-night stands with guys she's just met. But there's something about Jake, the mysterious vibes he gives off, his poetic words, and not to mention his looks, that makes it almost worth the risk. Could this end up being the biggest mistake of your life? Maybe. But when he opens up the cab door for you, you climb in anyway.